A half hour dish that tastes like a lot of fussing! I love making a little fuss on Friday nights, a celebration of the beginning of the weekend! My sister usually comes over, sometimes we invite a couple of friends too. While it is great to begin with a feast, sometimes we’re a little tired…
New Potatoes and Green Beans with Ginger and Mint
Potatoes with ginger? Green beans with mint? Both combined, along with garlic and sesame oil? Why not? July was always rob-the-potato-hills time in our garden growing up. Dad was the vegetable gardener and potatoes were his favorite to grow. He loved the whole process from planting the seed potatoes, hilling them up, and harvesting. About…
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Stuffed Pasta Shells with Summer Squash & Herbs
This vegan version of stuffed shells is a little lighter, but still full of flavor and satisfaction, you won’t miss the original. Right now, I have tons of herbs in my garden, so I’ve made green goddess dressing, herb salads, and garnished and infused just about everything with their wonderful flavor. Let’s stuff some shells!…
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Parsley and Parmesan Broth with Crabmeat Salad
Full of flavor, and we didn’t waste a thing! One of the joys of having an accomplished chef and restauranteur for a mother-in-law was the abundance of knowledge of little techniques along the way from her, often just by eating what she served. It was always incredible, always memorable, and never skimped on calories, carbs,…
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Tomato and Fennel Summer Salad
Here come the tomatoes, and my first fennel! I picked my first cherry tomatoes from my plants this week, and this is what really marks summer’s beginning to me. Of course, the farm stands are full of beautiful heirloom fruits of many colors, tempting me into making Salad Caprese with local fresh mozzarella, Bruschetta with…
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Wheat Berry Tabouli
This classic vegetarian salad has traveled well through countless decades! A good while back in my early adult life, my first vegetarian cookbook was the Moosewood Cookbook by Molly Katzen. If you are of my generation, you probably had it on your shelf too. It was certainly my first experience attempting meatless meals beyond baked…
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Sea Scallops and Baby Potatoes in Purgatory
Any time of day, this flavorful dish is a crowd pleaser! We love eggs in purgatory, the Italian version of shakshuka, a spicy tomato sauce in which eggs are simmered. It is a delicious breakfast, brunch, or supper dish, that is popular around the world. Let’s make a swap! But for a different take on…
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Celebrate the Season with a Luscious Lighter Strawberries Romanoff
This is a much lighter version of the old standby, with all the flavor and beauty. Strawberries are our first fruit of the season, and we wait all year for these beautiful little gems. Sweet, sometimes with a tart edge, red through and through, there is something magical about the aroma of macerated strawberries when…
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Leek, Asparagus, and Fennel Soup
Served hot or chilled, this soup is the flavor of Asparagus Season! Asparagus season is fleeting here in the Northeast, but we celebrate it with great flair. There are even asparagus festivals to celebrate this vegetable with every possible cooking method! Raw, baked, roasted, boiled, braised, sautéed, steamed, stir-fried, and grilled, any way you cook…
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Early Summer: Squash Roll-Ups Stuffed with Farro and Black Beans
Summer goes by quickly in New England, so once our temperatures hit 90, we declare it summer! Fresh, local, sweet little zucchini and summer squash caught my eye at the farm stand, and I couldn’t wait to sample them! These delicate little squashes herald the beginning of summer and all the possibilities coming our way….
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A Spring Fling! Roasted Cod and Sugar Snaps with Rhubarb Sauce
Spring treasurers unite for a memorable meal! Spring in Vermont means lots of delicious happenings, including vibrant red rhubarb, and delectable sugar snap peas bursting with freshness. Combine these wonderful ingredients with locally grown shiitake mushrooms and sweet Atlantic cod, and you’ve got a winning dish. Not for everyone Rhubarb is one of my favorites,…
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New England Steamer Clam Chowder with Fennel
We call it chowdah, a regional staple with the flavor of the sea. A friend of mine asked me for a clam chowder recipe recently, and I told her to check my blog. However, there wasn’t one there! I checked my family cookbook, and I didn’t include one there either, lots of other chowdahs, but…
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Chickpea Flatbread with Asparagus & Chives
Chives and asparagus are among our earliest sprouts here in New England, dancing together nicely at this time of year! This is the season of lilacs in our village, and what a year it is! There isn’t a street where one does not inhale this incredible scent of spring, and their luscious color as well….
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Ramp and Spring Radish-Top Pesto of Possibilities
Spring is here with great flourish, and we’re celebrating every minute. It’s been a cold spring, so we’ve had to wait a little longer than we’d like for our early seasonal delights. Wild ramps and fiddleheads are now here in abundance, spring-dug parsnips of course, and the first of the seed-planted radishes and their beautiful…
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A Yankee’s Shrimp and Grits with Asparagus
It may not be a traditional Southern Shrimp and Grits, but this dish is packed with flavor and freshness! Grits were not a part of my childhood cuisine. In fact, I never tasted them until I was an adult and actually lived in the South. I must confess, my first encounter with them was as…
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Fiddlehead Ferns a May Day Delight!
You have to prepare them correctly or you’ll never eat them a second time. But it is easy, and one of the treasurers of our Northern woodlands. May Day. A perfect day! 60 degrees, blue sky, a gentle breeze, and everything is greening and blossoming. My peas and lettuce are up, tulips and violets bloom….
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Mostly Mom’s Angel Food Cake
There are some recipes that are so ingrained in the family history we don’t mess with them at all, well, at least not much… My mom, my daughter, and my niece all list angel food cake as their favorite, a it is often a birthday cake request. My granddaughter’s birthday is two days before my…
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Warm Frisée and Radicchio Salad with Charred Lemon Vinaigrette
Slightly bitter, slightly sweet, a treat for the eyes and palate. My husband came back from the market with a head of radicchio rather than the head of purple cabbage on my list. It was a delightful mistake since I really love that colorful and slightly bitter green (is it still a green if it…
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Spring Sorrel and Parsnip Soup
It’s time to make a spring tonic soup since the ice is out at Joe’s Pond! Ah, April. Just when we thought it was safe to ditch the boots and winter coats, just as the daffodils delight with their beautiful spring show, we had a spring snow storm that left thousands without power. The ice…
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Pineapple Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
My mother always made a ham at Easter. She cut crisscross marks all over, slathered it in mustard and brown sugar, sometimes varying the topping. One of my first jobs was putting the little whole cloves in each intersection of the cuts. Toward the end of baking, she adorned the entire ham with pineapple rings…
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Potato Crusted Sesame Tuna with Spicy Lime Dressing
Lightly seared tuna is a once in a while indulgence, and sesame is always a great partner. My mother-in-law Pat was an accomplished chef and she taught me quite a few little tricks of the trade. One of her favorite ingredients to sneak into a high-end meal was potato flakes! This humble ingredient makes pretty…
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Baked Tofu with Mustard Cream Succotash and Fregula
Heavenly. Creamy. This dish made with veggies tucked in your freezer is good for you too! The garden is offering up a few chives right now, and this weekend I’ll tuck some lettuce in the cold-frame to at least give the illusion of gardening season starting. The squill is blooming, the daffodils are budding, and…
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(Today’s)Yankee Bean and Macaroni Soup
A New England classic that stands the test of time – inexpensive, quick, and really tasty. When I was growing up, Mom often put together a “Yankee Bean Soup” using leftover beans from another meal and a ham bone for flavor. It was a quick meal, tasty, filling, and usually served up with biscuits. There…
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Peekytoe Crab Stuffed Sole
New England seafood favorites, sole and a sweet Maine crab. We finally got out of town! A few days at the sea shore, and we are refreshed and ready for spring. It felt like winter when we left, a driving icy rain that turned to sleet now and then, lots of fog, and winter shoes….
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Spanish Shrimp with Artichokes on Toasted Farro with a Little Saffron Love
A versatile dish you can serve many ways, even vegan! Just don’t forget the saffron. Spanish flavors. The gorgeous smoked paprika, all the tasty peppers, tomatoes, olives, saffron of course. Saffron has a special place in my heart. An expensive spice My brother Floyd was a talented cook, and he adored saffron as much as…
